Things to Do Inside During a Snowstorm

7 Ways to Beat Cabin Fever

If you've got a snowstorm of European proportions headed your way this Winter, hopefully you've stocked up on all my essential Winter storm supplies to stay safe. Now what? Being snowed in is pretty exciting for the first hour or two, until the novelty wears off and boredom and anxiety set in. Keep yourself and your family happy, calm, and entertained with a few of these remedies for cabin fever. You may even find yourself wishing the snow would stick around!

Play an unboring board game: If you choose the right ones, board games are anything but boring. Go with a new classic like Apples to Apples or Cranium, or revisit an old favorite. If you haven't played Monopoly or Clue as an adult, by candlelight, during a snowstorm, you don't know what you're missing!

Catch up on your must reads: Know how you're always wishing you had more time to read? Well, guess what — you have all the time in the world right now! Catch up on must reads from the past year, or tackle something you've always meant to read but — ahem — haven't had time to.

Get crafting! What better time to attempt that DIY project you’ve been wanting to try, than a day you’re stuck indoors? One tip: keep your projects easy and fun, and make sure you have all the supplies you need ahead of time. A snow day is not the time to get in over your head on a difficult project!

Keep moving: If board games are making your group antsy, get everyone up and moving with something more active. Noisy, lively games like charades or a home-spun version of Win, Lose, or Draw will break both the silence and the monotony in a snowed-in home.

More ideas after the break!

Make 'em laugh: Housemates getting irritable from stepping on each other's toes all day? Lighten the mood with a little laughter. Break out your old Mad Libs (or make up your own), or play a couple rounds of The Sentence Game and watch the tension melt, even if the snow doesn't.

Stage an indoor scavenger hunt: If there are kiddos in your housebound group, send them on a mission to keep them occupied. Give them a list of unusual household things to find, and set a time limit to make things more interesting.

Set up a gift-wrapping station: Irritated that your holiday shopping plans were thwarted by the inclement weather? Make the most of your time indoors by getting a head start on gift wrapping, and invite your family or housemates to join in. Pull out the paper and ribbon and gather all the supplies you'll need (scissors, tape, gift tags) in one place, and whistle while you work together. Just don't wrap anyone's gift who's actually in the room!